1A The 1A Movie Club Sees ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’
Oct 30, 2025
John Horne, an entertainment correspondent and 1A Movie Club VP, joins musician and author Warren Zanes, who wrote the book behind the film, along with Pitchfork critic Sadie Sartini-Garner. They dive into Bruce Springsteen's darker phase in the early '80s and the making of the biopic. Zanes reflects on Springsteen’s introspection and familial trauma, while Horne discusses the film’s focus on songwriting over spectacle. Sartini-Garner praises its authenticity, contrasting it with typical musician biopics, and the panel highlights audience engagement with themes of mental health and vulnerability.
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Creativity Born From Crisis
- The film centers on Bruce Springsteen's 1981 mental-health crisis rather than his entire career.
- Nebraska's creation is portrayed as an inward reckoning that produced a deeply personal album.
Title Reflects Repeated Lyric Themes
- "Deliver Me From Nowhere" echoes lines across Nebraska, signaling recurring themes in Springsteen's work.
- The cassette recordings were intimate works-in-progress that lost something when overproduced.
Nebraska's Stark Emotional Turn
- Nebraska strips away Springsteen's usual hints of redemption and exposes despair and violence.
- Listeners found the characters relatable because Springsteen himself identified with their hopelessness.
